The Illusionist
by Sky Beetle
Summary: Make people see one thing while you do another... it's the beauty of deception.


I've read plenty of the Harry is abandoned yet finds magic stories and always been a fan. After watching August Rush, this idea kind of popped into my head and I went with it from there. I don't do slash and the pairing is going to be with anyone other then Ginny or Hermoine, I'll let ya'll decided. I've also written a story for Naruto so if your interested check it out and review!

Looking for a Mature beta as well. Plan on this story having smut, gore ect ect and need someone who can discuss these things maturely.

Italics - _Thoughts_

Chapter One - The Act of Magicians

* * *

Thump..

Thump..

Thump..

Sighing and rolling over Harry knew that the day had finally begun due to someone once again jumping down the stairs. On a normal day he would have been a bit irked at the whole situation but today was special, today he was leaving. Sitting up and tilting his head to the side to avoid the wooden stair Harry waited for his Aunt to open the cupboard.

"Pet make sure his lazy ass is up and ready to leave, I don't want him around longer then he has to be" hollered Vernon

Harry smiled to himself as his Uncles voice carried down the stairs and his Aunts footsteps followed. He waited patiently as his Aunt unlocked and opened the door. Patting the dust from his bag then slinging his arm through the shoulder strap Harry crouched as he made his way out. Making sure to shut and lock the cupboard behind him he turned and was greeted by the sneer of his Aunts face.

"Good Morning Aunt Petunia"

"There is nothing good about this morning boy… yet" she snarled as she grabbed the eight year old by the arm and drug him to the door.

"Wait for your Uncle and here take this… thing with you, I don't want it in my house and who knows what kind of unnatural things it holds" said Petunia as she reached for an item that was laying on a desk near her and thrusting it into his hands before turning and walking away.

The book itself was quite small and had two black pieces of leather that went around the middle on each side and were connected by a small silver buckle. The book looked quite new actually with the exception of the silver words "Lily" and a picture of a lily behind it that were a bit worn down.

Harry admired the book for a bit longer as he traced his fingers over his mothers name before hearing his Uncle and quickly slinging his bag from his shoulder, placing the book inside. Quickly wiping his eyes of the tears that were beginning to form he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

"Let's go boy" said Vernon as he grabbed his coat from the hanger and opened the door

Quickly following him to the car Harry took one look back at the house he would hopefully never see again.

* * *

The ride had been short, his Uncle had taken him to the slums of the city and just dumped him off on the side of the street. Walking down the street he knew there should be a part of him that was scared, but for some reason he felt calm and at peace. The kids running up and down the streets, the older ones that just sat on the stairs in front of a house. The men in business suits walking quickly and talking on cell phones. It all just felt… natural to him.

Sliding his thumbs under the straps of his backpack and pulling it tighter Harry continued walking forward with no real destination. He knew that he would need some money and that the scraps he was able to save from the breakfast the previous day would only last so long. But his train of thought was cut as the street stopped and came to a small gate.

_Hmm.. Wonder what that is up ahead? Looks like a park or something, without the grass.. One of those benches looks like a good place to sit so I can read my mothers Diary._

Despite what his relatives would say Harry was quite intelligent for his age…in the reading department anyways. He knew how to count money, but other math and he was useless. He could read and comprehend just about any book given to him. Sure he may not have understood certain words, but he was still able to put the story together and understand it one way or another. He had good writing skills from his reading and that was about it.

As he began walking towards the nearest bench he noticed that there was a little crowd in the middle of the courtyard. In fact there were quite a few little crowds in different area's. He stopped a bit to see what was going on with a few of them. The first looked to be of a man playing his guitar, he had a decent tune but Harry quickly lost interest soon. The next crowd actually had a group of men that were singing together. Harry chuckled at the way they bobbed up and down at different times but it really wasn't much more entertaining then the other guy. The third crowd was some weird silver painted guy acting like a robot but was horrid at it.

"Hmm… no wonder he has such a small crowd" said Harry to himself

"It's part of his act kid" echoed a voice behind him

Harry spun around at the sound of the baritone voice to come face to face with a man who was obviously going for the magician look. It was now that he became a bit afraid, long as no one paid any attention to him he was fine it was when someone took notice that bad things had always happened to him.

"What do you mean his… act?" asked Harry in a tiny voice

"His act, he's not pretending to be a lousy robot it's part of his act. You see kid people have big hearts most the time, they can try to deny it but it's true. The biggest emotion that can pull those big hearts out is pity. What Joe over there is doing is pretending to suck at what he is doing to gain more pity and in turn more money. Which for the homeless is the goal" replied the Magician as he began to pack his things.

"I.. see" said Harry as he turned to watch Joe for a bit longer. He began to notice that look of pity people gave him, and while his crowd was smaller more people gave him money as they walked by. He was lost just observing Joe until the magician spoke again.

"The problem with that is it will only work for so long, and once people start to realize that they might have been tricked they either get angry or you lose tips real quick after that. Good for a quick burst of cash but I wouldn't use it all of the time if I were you" said the Magician as his eyes gazed at Harry who was quickly becoming nervous.

"Why would I.." began Harry before he was cut off

"Look kid, you've got a backpack on that looks like it's about to burst, you smell like bacon and toast which is what I am guessing is smashed in the bottom of that backpack, and since I started talking you looked like you were about to make a run for it"

Harry just stared at the man in silence before casting his eyes to the floor. He had just gotten away from his Aunt and Uncle and he had already been caught by someone. His eyes began to water and sting before he started to get angry. Who was this guy to ruin everything, it had taken him months to convince his Aunt and Uncle to get rid of him.

Closing his eyes and reopening them he glared up at the man and was about to tell him to bugger off but this guy had to of been able to read minds.

"Kid I don't care where ya come from or whatcha did, your reasons are yours. If ya want to survive the best thing to do is use the Art of Illusion on people" said the Magician as he waved his hand in front of Harry's face green light following his gloved hand.

"Make people see one thing while you do another" he continued as his hand curled into a ball

"It's the beauty of deception" he whispered as his hand opened to reveal a ball of fire which he quickly blew on turning the fire into a pile a pure white feathers that slowly floated down. He said nothing else just smiled and took Harry's hand and placing something in it before closing the hand and walking off. Slowly opening his hand Harry looked down to see a small wad of cash. He turned with a smile on his face to say thanks but when he did it was as if the Magician man vanished out of thin air.

Quickly pocketing the cash Harry began walking towards a bench to sit down. Hopping up onto the bench and slinging his backpack off his shoulders Harry remembered the Diary. Opening his bag and pulling it out he ran his fingers over the cover once more before unlocking the buckle and opening it.

The inside of the book had writing on the first page that read.

* * *

_"The Diary of Lily Jane Evans"_

_To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind._

_To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will._

_To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed._

* * *

_  
_

Harry smiled at the passage and turned the page and began reading. His eyebrow rose at the first sentence.

"I received a letter today from an Owl at Hogwarts saying that I was a witch!"

* * *

So just a short little introduction, hopefully you'll get the idea on what branch of magic Harry will be going into. If not well then I'll surprise you in the next chapter. Chapters will be a lot longer then this so don't worry you'll have plenty to read in the future. This is just to kind of get a feel and get some input. Again looking for a mature beta to go over details and check over work, so if your interested leme know.


End file.
